Spain deploys 10,000 more soldiers and police as death toll from floods passes 200

The death toll after flash flooding wreaked devastation in Spain has reached 214, as the prime minister announced yesterday that 5,000 additional soldiers and 5,000 more police have been deployed to assist the rescue operation.

- HOLLY EVANS

An unknown number of people remain missing after the country suffered its deadliest natural disaster in living memory, which saw heavy rainfall wash away houses and cars in the eastern and central regions.

Valencian regional authorities said last night the total number of fatalities in the region was 211, plus two from Castilla La Mancha and one in Andalusia. The tragedy is already Europe’s worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.

Yesterday, rescuers were still searching for bodies in stranded cars and flood-destroyed houses, four days after the storm devastated the country.

Speaking after chairing a meeting of the flood crisis committee, prime minister Pedro Sanchez announced that 5,000 more police officers and 5,000 soldiers were being sent to Valencia, the worst-hit area.

“It is the biggest operation by the armed forces in Spain in peacetime,” Mr Sanchez said. “The government is going to mobilise all the resources necessary as long as they are needed.”